Rochester has a rich population of diverse cultures in our Asian community. Throughout the year and especially during the month of May, which is national Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Rochesterians have many opportunities to gain a greater understanding of Asian cultures.

This Sunday, February 22, The Memorial Art Gallery invites us all to Black History Month Family Day – Patterning Freedom. “Family Day” is especially relevant for Black History Month because it is the strong sense of family, community and shared responsibility that sustained African Americans through slavery, the civil rights movement and the challenges we face today. It will be a day of creativity, fellowship and connection – connection with each other but also connection with the creative energy inside each of us. Our history is now and this will be a day to celebrate not just the past but also the present and future.

photo by Brandon Vick

One of my favorite parts of the MAG’s Family Day events has always been the offerings at the Creative Workshop. I usually start there because my significant other, Raul Ferreira is a teaching artist in the Creative Workshop so I get to see how his concept for an activity comes to life in the hands of the participants. It always warms my spirit to see the children expressing themselves artistically and this year will be no different. The Creative Workshop will be open from noon to 4:00 offering opportunities for children of all ages (even the 50 year old ones like me!) to be creative.

“Habari Gani,” is the official greeting for each day of Kwanzaa, which is Swahili for “What is the good news of the day?”

And the correct response is: “Nia” (Purpose). Knowing your purpose in life is crucial to understanding your place, and what it is that you are called to do.

Tuesday, December 30th from noon to 5 pm, all ages are invited to the Memorial Art Gallery’s annual celebration of Kwanzaa, the pan-African cultural holiday. It is a time to honor the past, evaluate the present and commit to the future. MAG is free, but donations of $5/per family are happily received.

I have been involved with the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the Memorial Art Gallery on multiple levels as a performer, teacher, parent, and patron. The Family Day event brings together a slice of our community reflective of every one of the 20 Spanish speaking countries. Spanish is the second most populous language spoken on the planet; with Mandarin first and English third.

I grew up with Spanish as the first language spoken in my home. My mother, Margarita Morales de Padron, was always using sayings to give me advice. I was amazed at how many she had stored waiting for the perfect moment to express it. One that I heard repeatedly was “El amigo es como un dólar en el bolsillo.” “Friends are like a dollar in your pocket.” Another was; ”Dime con quién andas y te diré quien tu eres.” “You are who you walk with.” It is this one that I want to elaborate on…

The Family Day at the MAG during Hispanic Heritage Month is a perfect opportunity for anyone to come take a walk with us as we celebrate our culture, language, and arts. You will experience exhibits from each of the countries of Latin America; this year the country of focus is Spain. One will make hands-on crafts which involve the family, attend a performance in the auditorium, and listen to children and youth as they perform cultural and folkloric songs and dances. As you stroll throughout the salons in the gallery you will hear the accents which distinguish each of the countries. See the dress that makes each of us unique as a fashion statement. Or perhaps, you will sample a delicacy in harmonic form coming from the Flamenco guitarist.

In this delayed spring of the year of 2014 in Rochester, the Flower City, traditional Chinese Window Flowers will be thriving at the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) on Sunday, May 4th during Asian Pacific American Heritage Family Day. Join us from noon to 5 pm. Visitors of all ages will enjoy a variety of activities such as make-it-and-take-it art projects, tours, music and dance performances, dance workshops, and a variety of interactive offerings.

I will lead a paper cutting workshop 12-4 pm and visitors will be able to see my paper artwork and create their own paper art in the Creative Workshop at MAG.

Chinese paper cutting (Jianzhi) can be referred to as Window Flower, when attached to windows as a decoration. Jianzhi has been around for approximately 1,500 years and is recognized as the first type of paper cutting art in the world. Paper cutting has been used for important events such as Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year/ Spring) and weddings (Double Happiness).

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an African American spiritual believed to be composed by John Wesley Work Jr., who was considered one of the first African American collectors of folk songs and spirituals. This work of “sophisticated simplicity” is a perfect segue into the month of February. The song beckons us to “tell our history over the mountain tops, the hills, and the valleys low. During this month, we celebrate the heroic contributions and monumental achievements of people from the African diaspora who were intentionally left out of the history of America.

Join me on this systematic ride as we pay homage to the historical legacy of Martin and his prophetic discourse, “No, no, we’re not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” and Malcolm’s confirmation that we must obtain justice and freedom, “By any means necessary,” and Marcus’s affirmation, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without its roots,” to Marley’s “Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight, and so we commemorate, congratulate and most of all educate the human race about African Americans’ cultural background and the many achievements of black Americans across this nation.

As another year came to a close, so did the Memorial Art Gallery’s final centennial exhibition Memory Theatre 2013. While the Grand Gallery doors are drawn, and the stanchions stand guard with their “staff only” shields, over the next three weeks, the exhibitions and facilities departments will be fast at work executing the turnaround of Memory Theatre 2013 into Redefining the Multiple: 13 Contemporary Japanese Printmakers.

Kwanzaa Family Day will be held at the Memorial Art Gallery on Sunday, December 29, from noon til 5 pm. This year we will be celebrating the 4th principle of the Nzugo Saba (the seven principles of Kwanzaa): Ujamaa.

In my family, Kwanzaa is a way of life. We apply the principles on a daily basis. In other words, we strive with unyielding determination to be the very best that we can be. This is our time to remember, reassess, recommit, reward and rejoice.

Storytelling by Yvonne Koketso Ferreira of Gazelle Tales International

I am truly honored to be a member of the Rochester Kwanzaa Coalition as well as a member of the planning and development committee at the MAG. Beginning December 26 and continuing through January 1, this cultural celebration emphasizes the importance of family and community relations.

I’m Mexican-American, but that doesn’t define who I am. I’m pieces of my mother, a Mexican immigrant; a piece of my dad, a descendent of Canary Islanders. I’m parts of where I grew in San Antonio, Texas, the boot-kicking south mixed con un poquito de Spanglish. I’m a portion of my experiences that led me to raise a family in western, New York. I’m a mixture of my profession, my loves, my joys, my hobbies and my abilities. I’m a part of my family, my children and their father – a blend of Hispanic heritage with Scottish and Irish roots. I am a cultural mosaic.
This is why I enjoy being a part of the Hispanic/Latino Heritage Family Day at the Memorial Art Gallery. The community family day is inviting of everyone to celebrate all the pieces of Hispanic/Latino traditions that make up our identities. My involvement as a committee member allows me to express the parts of myself that love art, music and culture. I can meet people with similar backgrounds as well as work with talented community artists and leaders who contribute their time to making this event rich with engaging activities. I can also demonstrate to my children the importance of learning about their histories and to be proud of the parts that came together to make them who they are.

Join us on Sunday, Oct. 27 beginning at noon for a colorful day of cultural expression. Here’s a PDF of the days activities. I’ll be leading a group of volunteers – several employees from the Latino Professional Alliance at the University of Rochester – in a children’s art project titled “Icon Art Bracelets.” The project fits perfectly with the day’s theme, “Embracing and Encouraging Creativity – al Estilo Latino!” an art project with a mixture of personality, creativity and many bits Hispanic/Latino style.

so·lil·o·quy
n. an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers.

"Soliloquy" by Albert Paley (detail)

After the installation of Soliloquy, after the trucks, cranes, hardhats, cherrypickers and Albert himself had left, we took a walk down to the plaza for another look at the work. What was pretty cool was watching the way that people interacted with the work. It seemed that there was a common theme. People would get about 15 or 20 feet from the piece and stop – and just take it in.